Fearing the Unknown
by TheSodaVampire
Summary: The Joker thrives on fear. And people fear what they don't know. So a detective decides to get to know the man behind the make up. But what Jesse Whitley soon comes to realize is that no one can get to know the Joker without being changed. TDK-Verse
1. Chapter 1

Fearing The Unknown

By  
TheSodaVampire

_Author's Note: I know, I KNOW.. I promised I'd work on my Twilight story.. But.. The plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone! Until I get back into the Twilight-y mood, here's something for you to enjoy. Oh, and this is based of Heath Ledger's fantastic performance in 'The Dark Knight'. Complete Nolanverse. Post movie though. Enjoy._

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Jessica 'Jesse' Abigail Whitley. And Destiny Rose White. If you want to use them, ASK. But, all the rest belongs to their respective owners and creators. Hell, I can't even afford the money it costs to see TDK again! TT

**Chapter 1:  
In Which Things are Destroyed, Discovered, and Reveled.  
**

The night was far too quiet. Like the calm before a storm. And every heart in Gotham city was aware of the false sense of security, whether they chose to accept it or not. The abrupt and shocking reveal of the true identity of The Batman had taken place only a few hours before and the atmosphere that had been left in it's wake was that of pure and reluctant unease.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the city's newest menace, The Joker, would attack the heavily guarded convoy that held the now ex-vigilante Harvey Dent, as they traversed the newly blocked and deserted streets of Gotham. Like a mighty storm just before it breaks, it was no longer a question of 'if', only a simple a matter of when.

This unavoidable fact weighed especially heavily on the hearts of two off duty detectives as they sat well out of the line of fire, in a quaint Italian restaurant a few blocks northwest of the doomed path of the convey.

Apprehension and guilt echoed silently between the pair. They sat, each absorbed in their own thoughts as they stared at their untouched meals.

Though unspoken, the two of them mulled over the same unanswered question: 'Why should I get to be here, safe and warm, when my friends are out there, putting their lives in danger..?'

One of the two was a petite woman with long golden blond hair that came to her mid back, which shone like spun gold even in the dimmed 'ambience' lighting of the restaurant, lightly tanned skin, oval shaped face, bright sky blue orbs with long black lashes, a small button nose, and full rose colored lips, which were pulled down into a distressed frown. She idly pushed around a piece of broccoli on her plate and sighed softly in her soprano tone.

This disruption of the heavy silence brought her companion out of her mental holiday. She looked up from her own plate and caught her friend's eye, asking quietly, "You doing okay, Des?" in a deep, albeit feminine voice.

Destiny Rose White set down her fork and smiled apologetically. "Sorry.. I'm just so…" she trailed off dejectedly as her attempt at a smile fell from her beautiful face.

Her friend smiled humorlessly back at her. "I know what you mean.." she muttered dryly. Jessica, aka 'Jesse', Abigail Whitley gave a tired sigh of her own and ran a hand through her short hair in a nervous gesture. This was true torture at it's worst, it seemed.

It could be said that the two women were truly at opposite sides of the spectrum, whereas Destiny was petite and waif-ish in stature, her friend and partner, Jesse, was anything but. She stood nearly a head taller than the blond, at 5 ft 7, with short cut auburn hair, pale skin, a round face, green eyes, glasses, a wide nose, full pale pink lips and two sharp canine teeth which she affectionately dubbed her 'fangs'. And while Destiny was more on the firm and toned side, the auburn haired woman was what she liked to call 'fluffy'.

"I just wish that.." Destiny trailed once more, but once again, her partner finished her thoughts.

"I know." Jesse muttered unhappily. There was really nothing either one of them could do for themselves or their friends.

Destiny tried to smile "They'll be fine though. They know what they're doing." she assured, though Jesse wasn't certain who it was her she was trying to comfort more, Jesse, or her self.

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, but her tone was grimmer than before as she continued ominously, "But so does _he_." There was no question of whom she was referring to.

Destiny shivered unconsciously. Then the blond looked up at her partner sharply, "Don't talk like that!" she admonished shrilly, fear causing her voice to go up a few octaves, "You make it sound like he's the devil or something!" she pulled her cream colored sweater closer, though the restaurant was plenty warm.

Jesse raised her eyebrows, "Isn't he though..?" she mused quietly and Destiny shot her an incredulous look. The auburn haired woman considered this thought silently, all of those innocents he had killed without a thought, all of the chaos he seemed to enjoy causing so much, surely a person such as he couldn't be considered mortal by anyone's standards. Her words hung in the air like an unvoiced threat, until finally she spoke. "No," she concluded after a moment, "He _is_ just a man. But surely a new breed of man that this city has not seen before." she murmured thoughtfully as she gazed out the dirty window.

Destiny stared at her for a long time. "You make it sound like you're praising him or something.." she muttered wearily as she jerkily stabbed at the innocent piece of broccoli that she'd been toying with for the last few minutes.

This abruptly brought Jesse out of her reverie. "_Praising_?" she repeated, as though the very word burned her tongue. It was Jesse's turn to look incredulous, "You think I'm _praising_ that sadistic clown??" she demanded pointing a long pale finger at herself. Destiny merely smiled sweetly as she placed the broccoli in her mouth.

Jesse still gawked at her as she made to take a sip of her soft drink, only to spit it out not a second after she had taken a drink.

The all too familiar staccato of gunfire and roar of a near by helicopter suddenly echoed ferociously throughout the restaurant.

Green eyes met blue and a single thought ran through the two women's minds at the same exact moment:

'_Oh holy shit._'

As mass panic began to take over the patrons of the small Italian restaurant, as Jesse and Destiny fought against the crowd to get outside to where a lethal shower of glass rained down on the streets below.

Jesse watched in horror as a police helicopter came spiraling down in a fire-y cyclone of death up the street a ways, just as a bullet-pocked SWAT armored truck swept past, only to blow over the burning helicopter.

Not two seconds later, a semi roared past them both, hot on the tail of the truck. The pair locked eyes again and began running up the street towards the mass destruction.

Then an piercing screech was heard and with Jesse's nearsightedness, she could barely make out the form of a dark blur speeding towards the semi at breakneck speed.

It seemed as if the two vehicles were playing a life or death game of chicken as the dark blob that became a motorcycle swept barely out of the way of the semi, but it left a rope in it's wake.

What happened next became one big blur before Jesse's eyes as the real Batman on the motorcycle whipped past her, lampposts toppled over like skinny dominoes, but in all this chaos, somehow, the semi flipped completely over on to it's back with a deafening **CRASH!**

The Batman agilely turned him self around and started back the way he came, straight for the flipped semi, where a man was stumbling out of the wreckage.

Even with her poor eyesight, there was no doubt in Jesse's mind who that man was. The loping, almost child-like gait, the garish purple trench coat, the haunting whiteness of his clown war-paint, and not to mention the fact that even though he was stumbling out of a major wreck, he was still carrying a shotgun.

The infamous Clown Prince of Crime was walking in her direction, not even 40 feet away. And gaining ground.

Not that he gave her, or Destiny the slightest thought. As he passed, Jesse could've sworn she actually heard his nasal-y voice mutter "_Come on, come on, come on, I want you to, I want you to, come on, come on, come on_," he murmured, shooting at on coming traffic that obstructed his view of the Batman racing towards him, "_Hit me, hit me, come on, hit me_," the Joker continued to mumble until his voice became a roar as the motorcycle closed in, "**_HIT ME!!_**"

Just as Jesse fear that she'd be splattered by Joker-debris, the motorcycle swerved just in the nick of time. And then careened out of control until the Batman was splayed out on the street from the recoil of his bike hitting the semi at over 60 miles per hour.

Both women stood transfixed as the Joker shook his head, as if he was an exasperated parent dealing with a foolish child who knew better, and then proceeded to skip back towards his fallen adversary.

It took a moment for Jesse to overcome her fear and for her training to kick in. She had to help the Batman. Even if he wasn't exactly the city's most credible hero, he had still tried so hard to save innocent lives every day. She shook her head and began to run forward, leaving her partner behind, towards the caped crusader and the sadistic clown that was coming closer and closer.

A nameless lackey of the Joker's rolled Batman over and another attempted to remove his mask, only to be thrown backwards with a strangled cry by a high voltage shock. A booby trap for those unwise enough to try and remove the infamous mask of Batman's. The Joker cackled gleefully at the lackey's pain as he approached Batman's prone figure. Jesse subconsciously shivered, just as Destiny had before, as she pulled out her .40 Smith & Wesson automatic cartridge.

The young woman's breath caught in her throat as she came up behind the Joker, gun poised steadily at his green-ish blond mop of hair, just as he knelt down, about to carve up Batman's mysterious visage. At that same exact moment, two lackeys stood to fend off Jesse's attempt to thwart their boss' victory, and a frazzled looking Jim Gordon placed a gun to the Joker's temple.

"We got you, you son of a bitch.." he muttered victoriously.

Jesse could barely tear her eyes away from her formerly fallen captain, now back from the dead. 'He's been alive all this time..' she thought amidst her complete shock. Then she approached cautiously and stood directly above, as the Joker laid down on his back and dropped his switch blade on the ground, a curiously bored look on his jarring features. Jesse couldn't help the immense feeling of unease that grew in the pit of her stomach at this blatant disregard of his own capture.

Edgily, she glanced up at her captain's tired, though relieved face. "Good to have you back, Sir." she murmured quietly, returning her attention back towards the prostrate criminal before her.

"I thought you had tonight off, Detective.." Gordon mumbled casually, though he was still breathing hard.

Jesse's smile was wry, "You know me, Sir, the closet work-a-holic." she muttered sarcastically.

A few moments later, along with Destiny and a fellow brother in blue, Jesse helped move the Joker into the battle-marked armored truck, the same that had just been holding the now innocent Harvey Dent. Though, for a man who could strike terror into the heart of every man, women, and child in Gotham, the Joker was strangely cooperative. He didn't struggle in Jesse's grasp as she lead him towards the truck.

Jesse tried her best to ignore the substantial heat that radiated off of the clown's lean, though muscular frame and to focus on the task at hand.

Although, just as the four of them reached the truck, the Joker stopped short and both women and support officer tensed visibly, ready to take the joker in by any means necessary. Jesse's grip tightened considerably on the Joker's thick forearm, but if he noticed, he didn't give any indication. "Hmmm.. My my, what a duuuuuuumpy little vehicle this is.." he murmured in his nasal-y tone, humming slightly as he surveyed the pocked and marred armor of the truck, "I wonder who could've cause such uh.. con-siderable damage.." he continued in a mock serious voice, which broke into a disturbing high pitched giggle at the end. "Oh. Could that've been moi?" he giggled at his own poor joke.

Jesse could only stare as the Joker hopped up into the truck, only after removing his large and unbelievably heavy trench coat, which he handed over to Destiny with an eerily polite smile as he licked his cherry red lips.

But then, just as Jesse made to slam the door shut, a pale white hand shot out and grabbed onto Destiny's shoulder. "Pleeease be carrreful with my ah.. Little _friends_ in there, won't you…?" the Joker asked oh-so-innocently, though the raging inferno behind his black smeared eyes ruined the desired effect.

Though Jesse could see Destiny trembling in fear at the clown's touch, the blonde's eyes narrowed. "Shut the hell up you sick freak!" she yelled and yanked her shoulder free.

The Joker's face was a living paradox, while his smile widened at Destiny's little outburst, his dark eyes screamed murder. Jesse could tell that even though the Joker was all smiles and deranged laughter, inwardly, he was livid.

Without another word, Jesse slammed the door shut after the Joker retracted his arm. As the truck drove away, Jesse stared at the retreating back of her usually mild mannered partner. The Joker was the creator of fear, and fear only brought out the worst in people, the auburn haired woman concluded silently.

Just then, Destiny called to her, "Ah.. Jess.. You might want to come over here.." the blond called over her shoulder.

Dread washed over Jesse in waves. After what had just gone on, what else could go wrong..? She dashed over to where her partner was standing..

Only to see her beloved silver 2000 Volvo S70 GLT carrying a certain resemblance to that of swiss cheese. Cracks and bullet holes spider webbed across her windshield.

But of course, Destiny's dark blue 2007 Prius was completely untouched. Not even a ding in the opalescent paint job.

The world seemed to crumble around Jesse's feet.

"No no no no no no no.. NO! NOT MY CAR!!"

So.. First chapter. What do you guys think?

I'm trying really hard to write the Joker's mannerisms right.. /


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: I'm back. Sorry about the delay, but, yanno, life happens. And to make up for my absence, here's a really long chapter for you guys. I'd like to thank **godoflight** and **xxFEATHERSxx** for their support. :) Thanks everyone! Enjoy!  
_

_Chapter 2:_

_In Which Grave Mistakes are Made_

_(Part 1)_

"Oh, come on, Jess.. It's not so bad.."

Jesse barely registered that she had been dragged away from her 'baby', into Destiny's car, and was now seated at her desk at the Gotham Police Station. And now Destiny was attempting to snap her out of her depression. But to no avail.

"You don't understand… You're car is safe.. Untouched…" Jesse murmured in despair, waving her partner away feebly, "This is going to cost me a small fortune to fix and I'm pretty sure my insurance policy doesn't cover '_Collateral Damage as a result of a battle between a Masked Vigilante and his Arch Nemesis'_…" she waved her arms around dramatically for emphasis on the direness of the situation. She didn't even acknowledge the fact that Destiny had walked away in exasperation.

With a haggard sigh, Jesse laid her head on her folded arms and closed her tired eyes. She wanted nothing more than to _sleep._ But when she closed her eyes, a white face with black eyes and a giant bloody smile was there to greet her.

Groaning, Jesse sat up and turned to stare at the ordinary steel door that lead to where they were keeping him. It was unsettling to know that that kind of evil was in such close proximity to where Jesse carried out much of her day-to-day life. They had found 14, _14_ different kind of blades in that man's coat pockets. But nothing more. No ID, no address, nothing to indicate that the Joker was even legally existed. 'Nothing but knives and lint', as Sergeant Stephens had stated when he'd emptied the contents of the Joker's pockets. And the Joker had called those knives his _friends._

An involuntary shiver ran through Jesse's form as she thought of the words that the Joker has last spoken to anyone on his way to the Station:

"_Pleeease be carrreful with my ah.. Little __**friends**__ in there, won't you…?" _He had been unsettlingly sincere in his concern. He really _didn't_ want anyone to mishandle those things, those instruments of carnage.

The Joker was nothing, if not unsettling. And what was worse, the guy seemed to _thrive_ on that fact that he could bring out the worst in people.

Destiny's uncharacteristically snarling face flashed into Jesse's mind. She was usually the most mild mannered person on the force. Everyone had taken to calling her _bunny _for Pete's sake! It had struck a cord with Jesse to see her partner react so violently.

' _Though, he often has that effect on people…' _Jesse thought to her self dryly as the irony came to her. This was going to be a loooong night. Little did she know that truer words could not have been spoken.

Soon Captain Gordon arrived at the station, to the cheers and murmurs of relief of what seemed to be the entire station. Now that he was back, Jesse _almost_ felt like she could breathe easier. She'd done a lot of thinking about her boss since she'd been brought back from the scene of destruction.

Captain Gordon honestly was the glue that kept this place together. It had been so.. _Chaotic _when he had been presumed dead. Every officer had been on edge and tensions had been at an all time high. With Gordon as their leader, all of the officers had a unified purpose. To serve and protect. Without him, that unity had been forgotten. Fissures of distrust began to form and a divide had threatened to over take the entire station. Who was to be trusted. Who was a mole for the mobs. Though that time was now gone and passed, the memories of the divide still were fresh in Jesse's mind, as well as every one else's. The almost instantaneous fracturing of the station was too big a red flag to just let go.

Though Jesse was glad to have her captain back with the living, it was still like putting a band-aid over a bullet wound, and saying it was all better.

With another weary sigh, Jesse rubbed her forehead, where a throb of pain forewarned of an oncoming tension head ache. '_Why can't life just be simple for once..?' _the 25 year old asked her self silently. They all had enough problems, she mused to her self as she stole another glance at the door with a grimace, without adding office politics to the mess. Fishing out a bottle of Tylenol from her desk drawer, she poured out 2 tablets and swallowed them dry, lest her headache gain strength. But despite her best efforts, the growing noise, (though calling it a quiet _roar_ wouldn't have been entirely incorrect), in the large station at the captain's return from the dead wasn't exactly helping Jesse's cause.. Another, albeit, stronger throb caused Jesse to nearly groan. "This better not turn out to be a damn migraine.." she grouched to her self quietly.

With a quick glance in the direction of the crowd that had enveloped Gordon, Jesse could easily make out the lines of wear and care that seemed to be etched, if possible, deeper into the face of her boss. He seemed to look at least half a decade older since the last time she had seen him. Her green eyes caught his blue ones as he plastered another weak smile on his face for the crowd and she smiled sympathetically at him. He mirrored her expression genuinely while he pushed his way out of the crowd as gently and as politely as only a man with his level of tact could.

The captain seemed to radiate exhaustion as he made a bee-line towards that ominous door, Jesse noted as she followed Gordon with her eyes. Though for some strange reason, Jesse found her self following him. Destiny, however, objected. But Jesse ignored her partner's verbal protests and followed. She needed to see this. As they reached the door, by sheer will alone did the captain's frame straighten up. '_He must be so tired..' _she thought to her self with compassion and pity for her boss. But those thoughts of warmth, kindness, and simple humanity had to be discarded right at that very instant as Gordon reached for the door handle, for Jesse knew they both had to be focused and alert to face what lay beyond that metal cage.

Or else they'd be _**torn to shreds**__. _

No one noticed as Jesse slipped in behind the Captain, who stormed into the room with such sternness it was a bit startling.

There, in all of his ruined glory, directly in front of Jesse's point of view, was the all-too-still form of the Joker. Bereft of his beloved purple coat, the man beneath the coat was curiously much smaller than he had initially seemed, or so it appeared to Jesse. His clothes were wrinkled, but even the dingy lighting of the cell couldn't dim the garishness colors of the fabrics. A two tone geometrical patterned button up shirt was underneath the dark emerald green vest, and who could forget the regal dark grape colored trousers? But something seemed to be off.. Then it dawned on Jesse.

Despite the fact that dozens upon dozens of night sticks were being whacked on the bars all around him, even precariously close to his head, the Joker didn't even flinch. Even from what little Jesse had seen of the guy, the stillness was still out of character for the Joker. He was _always _twitching or fiddling or running his hands through his greasy un-kept green-ish hair, or _something. _But his usual ADHD-esque attitude was no where to be seen.

"Stand away!" Gordon practically barked at the smattering of guards and cops that were gathered around the Joker's cell, "All of you. I don't want _anything _for his mob lawyer."

'_He's too calm. Too still. Fuck, what have we gotten our selves into..?' _Jesse hissed mentally as she ran a hand through her short hair in a nervous gesture. Normally this guy was a fucking _snake, _lashing out at everything and anyone. It wasn't _right._ None of this felt right in Jesse's mind. Her stomach and chest tightened in anxiety.

Then a slight movement caused Jesse to jump back to reality. When she realized that she'd been zoning out in thought, she finally took note of _what _exactly she was staring at. But, despite her current awareness, for the life of her, Jesse couldn't bring her self to tear her eyes away from _that guy's face_.

The movement she had caught was the smallest one could really imagine. Barely something to notice. All the Joker had done was smirk. He could've been smirking at anyone, or at the entire situation really, but she could've sworn he was looking directly at _her. _

Either way, it pissed the young detective off. Her expression changed from that of a dazed stare into a cold glare. The smirk on the smeared face only widened.

"Cocky little motherfucker…" she muttered as a man swept passed her, she glared for a second, then snapped her gaze to the floor out of embarrassment as she realized that the man who had bumped her was the Mayor him self. Knowing that he hadn't even noticed her existence, much less her glare, she lifted her eyes and watched the scene that unfolded in front of her.

The dark haired politician came up to Gordon, "Back from the dead." he murmured in a slightly accusing tone.

Gordon's mask of severity fell and a look of pure guilt and shame washed over his tired features. "I couldn't chance my family's safety.." he muttered abashedly in an equally quiet tone.

The mayor looked intently at the docile Joker in his cell. "What do we got?" he asked brusquely.

Gordon sighed. "_Nothing. _no matches on prints, DNA, or dental. Clothing are custom, no labels. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. No name, no other alias.. Nothing." he reported bleakly.

This guy was a complete mystery. A ghost. He didn't freaking _exist. _Jesse's headache throbbed painfully in response to her growing despair and frustration.

Mayor Garcia patted Gordon on the arm, "Go home, Gordon. The clown'll keep till morning. Get some rest- You're going to need it. Tomorrow, you take the big job." Gordon gaped and made to protest, but Mr. Garcia cut him off, "You don't have any say in the matter," he paused and said louder for everyone to hear, "_Commissioner _Gordon."

All of the cops in the room applauded and cheered, Jesse included. She let out a wolf whistle. But then the whistle was cut off as Jesse's attention was practically _jerked _back to the cell. Her hands dropped to her sides, motionless. And as soon as she'd noticed it, everyone else caught on.

The applause died off instantly. The person clapping _loudest of all _was none other than the Joker. And he just kept on clapping.

With that everyone left, leaving only the guard and Jesse to watch the clown. She just couldn't look away. With horrid fascination, she stared steadily from the doorway. Questions plagued her mind, though they would probably never be answered. What was with this guy? What was he after? But the hardest to ignore was _why. Why does he do what he does?_

From out of nowhere, the Joker's nasal-y voice broke the heavy silence of the room. "You, uh, know what they always _suh-ay_, bub, take a _**freaking **_picture_-_it'll last longer_.." _the man in the cell drawled, almost as if he was bored.

Jesse blinked slowly. Bub. _Bub. _He thought that she was a guy.

It wasn't the first or the last time that this happened to her. It was because of her deep voice and short hair. And when you added in Jesse's tendency to wear dark colored and slightly baggy clothes, it was a common mistake. That didn't mean that she enjoyed being called a man. She had a decent sized bust, and a surplus of curves. Jesse just didn't feel the need to flaunt it all like _some other people _(cough, _Destiny, _cough)_. _It took a moment of concentration to keep her self from grinding her teeth together in annoyance. No need to give the sadistic clown any ammunition to use against her.

Suddenly the door that Jesse had been standing semi-in front of swung open roughly, catching her on the elbow. She hissed in pain and turned to snarl at the idiot who had hit her. A head full of bright red hair and sharp blue eyes poked it's way into the room. Jesse's snarl did not lessen when she saw who had hit her. "Brogan! Why don't you watch what the hell you're doing?!" she growled ill temperedly as she rubbed her offended joint gingerly. It seemed her elbow and head were throbbing equally in time now.

"Oh. Whitley. It's you." Rhys Brogan muttered disdainfully as he walked inside the room, looking down on Jesse, at his height of 6 ft 3. Jesse had to crane her neck just to look up defiantly at her long time rival and personal tormentor. Then he noticed her clutching her elbow, then stooped down and patted Jesse on her head "Aww, did the wittle whitwhey get a boo boo?" he cooed mockingly, batting his long black eyelashes and pouting his pale lips. Jesse had and fought the immense urge to punch him in the nose. She got a glare at the guard who snorted quietly.

If there was anyone who could get under her skin, it was Brogan. He knew just how to make her feel like a clumsy clod. It was like he spent his every waking moment thinking up ways to make her life miserable, instead of focusing on their own jobs. Clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides, Jesse breathed through her nose. Willing her self to say nothing to incite nothing, she tried to side step the giant pain in the ass that was Brogan, but he stepped in front of her.

"What were you doing in here, anyways, Whitely? Making a new _friend_?" Brogan asked scathingly, his eye flashing towards the cell.

Jesse spared a glance in the direction of the cell, she had almost forgotten that he was there, where the Joker had sat forward in his seat, his arms supported on his knees, and his head resting on his palms. He waved a huge hand dismissively at the two of them. "Carry on, guys, this is, humm, better than the, ah, _Late Show_." he hummed and grinned widely to him self.

Jesse rolled her eyes as Brogan stormed towards the cell, "You talk pretty big, for someone in a _cage, ya freak." _the tall detective sneered, coming within mere inches from the metal bars of the cell.

The reaction that followed this comment was instantaneous: the Joker's eye twitched, his ruby red tongue flashed out of his scarred lips, much like a snake's, Jesse and the guard stepped forward to stop Brogan, and within a blink of an eye, the Joker's massive form was against the bars, and his pale spider like hand was clasped around the bars of the cell, centimeters from Brogan's face. This was entirely too close for anyone's comfort.

But Jesse, being closer to her foolish co-worker than the guard, reacted first, "Brogan, get away from that damn cell!" Jesse roared as she hooked her fingers in the collar of her rival's dress shirt and _yanked_. He stumbled backwards and into Jesse's chest. She whirled him around and pulled him closer so she could get in his face, "_Never. Do. That. Again_." she hissed severely.

"You, ah, might want to listen to your little fuh-riend there, pal, he _is_ trying to save you ne_ck._ If you catch my, ah, _drift." _the Joker almost purred from the cage. He nimbly sat down, in front of the bars, like some possessed man-child.

Jesse shot the deranged clown an incredulous stare, and released the lapels of Brogan's dress shirt, fairly certain that the giant pain in the ass wouldn't repeat his act of severe stupidity any time soon.

As if to prove her point, the Irish cop shuddered not-so-subtly as he realized what the consequences would've been if he hadn't been pulled away, his blue eyes pinned to the Joker's now still hand. Jesse noted how the young man's already pale skin had taken an almost ashen-green pigment to it now. Evidently the clown took major offense to being called a freak. Jesse would definitely keep that in mind.

And the woman couldn't fight the small half second smirk that formed on her features. As cruel as it was, it was nice to see the high and mighty bean stalk being taken down a peg. Even if she owed this delight to none other than the 'Clown Prince of Crime' him self.

With another pang of pain from her temples, Jesse tore her eyes away from the clown and pinched the skin between her eyebrows. "Come on, Brogan, let's just get outta here.." she muttered, unsuccessfully trying to keep the tired edge out of her tone. She gently turned the red head around, shot a tired and sympathetic look at the guard that plainly said '_good fucking luck'_, pushed Brogan lightly towards the door and made to leave the room that now suddenly seemed far too small for her liking as well, but not before casting one last glance towards the man in the cell.

The Joker had laid his head on the bars and was staring unblinkingly at her, once again. His face was the epitome of neutrality. Blank and almost completely unaffected. Bored, almost. Nearly, except for his black ringed eyes. They glittered with a calculating intelligence.

Dread burned coldly down in Jesse's stomach again, as if she'd just swallowed an entire block of ice.

Was he really a devil?

The question lingered a moment in the detective's mind. Then she roughly pushed the thought aside, to the furthest corner of her mind. Thoughts like that couldn't be allowed to fester in her mind or else she'd end up just like her blond partner, superstitious and violent because of it.

Little did Jesse know that as she walked out of the room, a slow cruel smile fell on to the Joker's marred features. This was already so _entertaining_, and the punch line of his little joke hadn't even come yet! Oh what _fun _this was going to be…

Now if only people would stop _staring _at him.

He wasn't some exhibit in a _freak show_, yanno.


End file.
